We are pleased to announce an exciting new collaboration between Tessitura Luigi Bevilacqua and the Le Monde Béryl brand, which has chosen our iconic Tigre velvet for its latest creations: the Slim Runner sneakers. A perfect fusion of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design, expressing the brands’ quest for luxury and quality.
Bevilacqua Animalier Velvet Slim Runner Sneakers
Founded in 2016 by Lily Atherton-Hanbury and Katya Shyfrin, Le Monde Béryl is a brand known for its sumptuous but practical flat shoes. Initially inspired by friulane – the Venetian footwear traditionally made from leftover fabric scraps and old bicycle tires – the brand has expanded its offerings to include delicate satin and velvet ballet flats, as well as trendier designs such as mesh and studded Mary Janes and slippers.
Despite the focus on lightweight, sophisticated footwear, the shift to sneakers is a natural extension of Le Monde Béryl’s design ethos. “At the heart of it all is the idea of freedom of movement,” says Atherton-Hanbury. “With the gondolier slipper, there was the notion of functionality, of style being out of necessity. The sneaker is such an essential everyday part of most people’s wardrobe.”
The new Slim Runners, available in Bevilacqua’s Tigre animalier velvet, continue the upcycled tradition of gondolier footwear with recycled-rubber soles. The use of this iconic velvet not only evokes the Venetian spirit, but adds a luxurious and distinctive touch to these sneakers, combining tradition and innovation in a versatile and recognizable design, as highlighted in recent articles in The New York Times and British Vogue.
Tigre Bevilacqua Velvet: A Masterpiece of Craftsmanship
Among the fabrics used by Le Monde Béryl, the Tigre velvet from our Tessitura collection occupies a special place. Available in both mechanical and handmade versions, this velvet is the result of a long tradition of craftsmanship that requires unique skills and years of experience.
Tigre 441 Animalier Velvet, Brown-Yellow-Beige
In particular, the handmade version of the Tigre velvet is woven on ancient wooden looms dating back to the 18th century Silk Guild of the Republic of Venice, through a complex weaving process that allows very limited quantities to be produced daily.
Its elegant animalier pattern, created in collaboration with Iris Apfel in the 1950s, is created through the use of perforated cards that control the movement of the threads. These cards, the basis of jacquard weaving, are programmed for each individual design, making each piece of velvet a unique work of art.
The result is a velvet with a rich, silky texture in which the colors are enriched by the shades of light reflected off the pile, adding depth and movement to the design.
Tigre 032 Handmade Cut Velvet, Brown-Yellow-Beige
Another characteristic of handmade velvet is its limited width, which does not exceed 67 cm. This is because the weavers, working on ancient looms, must cut the threads manually, with precise and decisive gestures that must fit within the size of an arm. Every movement of the weaver affects the final result, giving each piece a slight variability that makes it all the more precious and unrepeatable.
The process of preparing the loom itself is long and complex. Putting the design on paper requires months of work by several weavers, and once production begins, the pace of progress is extremely slow. However, it is precisely this slowness that helps to create a product of extraordinary beauty and uniqueness.
This fabric has adorned the homes of illustrious personalities and now enriches Le Monde Béryl’s new Slim Runner sneakers, bringing with it centuries of Venetian history and tradition. “It has essentially become our signature print,” says Shyfrin of the velvet tiger pattern that the brand has also used in its Slippers and Mary Janes.
If you would like to purchase the Slim Runner Sneakers from Le Monde Béryl and discover more details about the product, you can visit this link.
